


Clockwork

by KaleidoscopeVision



Category: Mystery Skulls Animated
Genre: AU, Angst, Character Death, F/M, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Let's go with that, M/M, OT3's a safe bet, Recovery, Steam-fantasy?, Supernatural powers galore, steampunk-ish?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-06
Updated: 2021-03-06
Packaged: 2021-03-19 05:27:02
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,657
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29869815
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KaleidoscopeVision/pseuds/KaleidoscopeVision
Summary: Golden eyes. The sign of a magineer, someone capable of seeing below the surface, gifted with eerie talents in enchantment and sight. They could build the most wondrous enchanted machines, or lay curses on unassuming objects to cause dismay. A rare breed, often sought after, sometimes lauded, never trusted.To a certain nephew of a clockmaker, the golden eyes mean isolation. He earns his living, but aside from his uncle, he has no one. He certainly doesn't expect two strangers with exceptional auras, a man with shockingly purple eyes and a woman with a sparkle to her whole being, to take interest in him and sweep him away on the most peculiar of job arrangements.
Relationships: Arthur/Lewis (Mystery Skulls Animated), Arthur/Lewis/Vivi (Mystery Skulls Animated), Arthur/Vivi (Mystery Skulls Animated)
Comments: 11
Kudos: 32





	Clockwork

**Author's Note:**

> Heya!   
> So, I've been very inspired by the fics in this fandom lately, I love it to bits and have about a dozen different ideas I've been working on. I have yet to post anything, though, but thanks to being inspired and encouraged by @swiftishere, I thought I'd give a shot at posting! So now I have actually logged in to my account for the first time in years, and here we go :'D (Also, if any of you reading this have been posting on this fandom lately, I might have been lurking around your comment sections as EliReads, hello again!) I hope you enjoy, I would love to hear some feedback!

Arthur wiped at his brow with a spare towel, as he finished his day of work, tired but content. He glanced out the window, seeing they were already lighting the streetlamps. Huh. He’d been so focused on his project the time had run away from him. He smiled to himself, as he packed the intricate gearbox into a stuffed crate, ready to be shipped out. He hoped the mayor would be happy with his work, and the amphibious vessel would work as ordered, now. He would have preferred to be the one to install the gearbox, himself, just to make sure, but this time the order had only been for the making of it, not for any connection work.

“You still working, son?” Arthur’s Uncle Lance peeked into the workroom, raising a bushy brow. Arthur gave an embarrassed chuckle, closing and sealing the crate and scrawling a shipment description which he attached to the plywood, before putting his suspenders back to their proper places on his shoulders, where they had been hanging down, before, to maximize comfort as he worked. 

“I’m finished, I’m finished”, he assured the older man. “You closed the shop, already?”

“An hour ago”, Lance rolled his eyes, putting on his monocle to better glimpse Arthur up and down. “When did you last eat?” As Arthur opened and closed his mouth, the man groaned, grabbing his nephew’s arm and pulling him out of the room. “Get your coat. We’re going to the Night Market.”

“O-oh”, Arthur stuttered, taken off-guard. He followed his uncle obediently, as the older Kingsman gathered his wallet and smokes, before shrugging on his long, worn jacket. Arthur did as ordered, buttoning up his puffy coat and adding his burnt orange scarf. Winter was starting to close in, so he’d need to take care of dressing accordingly, Lance said. Arthur had always been susceptible to the cold. 

They left their co-owned establishment, Kingsman Gears, setting off to the cobblestone streets of the town of Tempo. Arthur smiled as he breathed in the fresh air after a day spent indoors. He reached for his chest pocket, fiddling around, before frowning. He patted his other pockets, lost. Where were they..? 

Lance noticed him fiddling. He observed his nephew for a second, before recognition sparked in his warm brown eyes. The man reached a hand at the younger one’s back for a pat. 

“C’mon Artie. You don’t need them. It’s dark out anyway, no one will give you looks.” 

Arthur sighed, uncomfortable. 

“Do you have any idea where I put them? They’re usually attached to the chain…” He showed the delicate silver chain attached to his chest pocket, hanging loose with nothing in the other end. Lance thought about it, brushing his beard with his fingers. 

“…Did you take them off, before you last sent the coat to the cleaners’?” Arthur paled, before smacking his face with his palm. 

“…Dangit. Those glasses weren’t cheap.” 

“No matter”, Lance huffed. “We can look fer a new pair at the market. Although y’know what I think about hiding your eyes all the time. It’s fine, Artie.” 

“Well I’m not iron-willed like you, uncle”, Arthur grumbled, shoving his hands in his pockets as he walked. “I don’t like the attention…” 

“Bah. No one’s going to see ‘em in this darkness, just get it in yer head, boy.” Arthur made a noncommittal, slightly doubtful sound. For him, it wasn’t exactly dark out here. He could still see perfectly well all the way into the distance. But then again, he had had to learn to expect not everyone shared this specific sharpness of sight with him. Maybe Uncle Lance was right, and no one was going to notice. But he still wasn’t convinced his eyes couldn’t glow in the dark or something, that’s how intensely people stared whenever he left his dark-glass shades home. He couldn’t exactly change the color, dammit! 

They arrived at the Night Market, after maybe a quarter of walking later. Arthur couldn’t help a smile, his nerves be damned. He had loved this place since he was a child. The lanterns of the market at dark, the stalls and variety of things being sold, the smells of food and baked goods from food stalls, mixing with the smell of chemicals, wafting from alchemists’ stands. All the sounds of sellers hollering, people chatting or bargaining, laugh and distant music. There was something magical about all of it. Lance was shrewd, he always knew when Arthur needed a breather from his work and the company of his own thoughts. 

Arthur’s stomach gurgled as they passed by a stall ladling out creamy paella for the customers. Lance laughed at the sound, dragging his nephew to the queue. 

“Okay, son, my treat. You’ll get your weird mollusks”, he chuckled as Arthur grinned bashfully, rubbing at his ear. 

“Heh, thanks, Uncle Lance. I’ll um, did you have the evening paper, already?” The clockmaker met his eyes. Arthur didn’t fully register him noting dryly he would not accept compensation, thank you very much. Even after all the years Arthur had been in his uncle’s care, he was still grateful and relieved at how easily the older Kingsman looked him in the eye without so much as a flinch. No normal human had golden eyes. Not ones that felt like they pierced through the gaze’s recipient’s soul. He was a cursed child, a freak, a monster. Some nights, it was still hard to tamp down those specific memories. 

They ate their food on a bench, situated close to a street performer playing a barrel organ, enjoying themselves. Arthur slowly relaxed. He was generally bad with interacting with strangers but being a part of the crowd was still oddly soothing. Especially, since Lance had been right; No one was paying him any attention. 

“So where to, after this?” Lance asked with an amused voice, as he watched Arthur look around with that sense of wonder in his eyes, again. “You wanna shop?” Arthur slowly nodded as he took the last bites of his paella, smiling shyly. 

“Could we see if the spare parts peddler is at the corner, again? I could use some cheap junk for a couple of experimental projects…” 

“Sure thing, kiddo”, Lance just huffed. They returned their wooden plates and continued on. 

Arthur was beaming as they left the peddler’s stall, with a heavy bag of spare parts of machinery. Arthur carried it in his arms, happy as can be, already telling Lance about his latest experiments, when something caught his eye. He blinked, looking that way and squinting. What was that bloom of bright colors among the crowd? 

His eyes fixed on two people in the distance, walking arm in arm like a married couple. He couldn’t see their faces, they were turned away from him, but he did see the almost shocking colors they sported. The shorter of the couple, by far, seemed to have bright azure hair on a simple updo, while the taller person’s hair was meticulously combed into a pinkish purple pompadour. Oh, wow. Arthur was surprised someone actually wanted to harness that much attention, as to dye their hair an unnatural – albeit kind of pretty – color. But their hair wasn’t the only thing gathering Arthur’s attention. 

It was their auras. He rarely saw anyone quite like that, for sure. Even from this distance, Arthur could tell the tall person’s aura was huge for a human. It was the color of their hair, a bright purple, flaring around them like a warm fire in a large fireplace. Their presence was so blinding, Arthur almost didn’t register how their companion’s aura, although more of the size that could be expected, sparkled quite unusually, in shades of greenish blue. 

They were beautiful to look at. 

“-Artie? Hey, ya with me?” 

He startled at a nudge on his sleeve and looked down, blinking. Lance was raising his brows at him, questioning. Arthur let out an embarrassed chuckle. 

“S-sorry, sorry. There’s just- Can you see those people with unusual hair there, at the corner of the stall row?” Lance looked the way he pointed, squinting, before rolling his eyes. 

“Don’t brag, eagle-eyes”, he huffed humorously. “Ya think I can see that far?” 

Oh. Right. It was nighttime. And the distance was probably a problem, too. Arthur rubbed at his neck, biting his lip. Lance tilted his head. 

“So, these folks? Ya were transfixed fer a while, there, they unusual, somehow?” Arthur glanced back that way, but the two presences had already disappeared around the corner. He shook his head.  
“Oh, nah, it’s nothing. Just, caught my eye.” 

Arthur was at the front of the shop, today. He nervously hid behind his notebook, trying his best to scrawl in it with a pencil, while holding the book to cover half of his face. He really, really wasn’t salesperson-material. His uncle always handled it so much better, and it was usually his and their worker Ivy’s job to handle the regular customers and the whole of the front side of the establishment. Arthur stuck to the backroom, working on the special orders. Those were his passion. Sure, he knew a lot about clocks and basic spring-work and fixups, which were what Lance provided at the front, but they no longer interested him. His mind was always looking for new, more complex projects that could rouse his interest. 

Now, however, Lance and Ivy had left for the day, to talk supplies with their new provider. And Arthur was left, working at the front. He didn’t want to lose a full business day of earnings just because he was a coward, and had promised to get the job done, but oh how glad he would be, once it was closing time. For now, he waited for any customers to walk in, meanwhile continuing to draw up his plans for the newest assignment from a scientist at the university in the next city. 

He wasn’t an inventor just for giggles, after all. He was starting to get recognition for his work. He cringed at the memory of one of the client letters, where they had addressed him as the “genius magineer”. So, the rumors were already spreading. He didn’t know if he liked the thought of people attributing his inventions to his unnatural side, alone. He put a lot of work into it! It wasn’t just making “magic” happen, or whatever the people thought about his kind. 

The doorbell chimed, snapping Arthur out of his thoughts. He squeaked, hoping the customer hadn’t heard, as he stood up from his stool rapidly, scrambling for a hospitable smile. It turned out nervous, at best. 

“W-welcome to Kingsman Gears! How c-can I help you-“, Arthur’s jaw dropped, the end of his sentence hanging in the air. His eyes were wide behind his new pair of darkening, round shades. They- Oh hell, it was the couple from the marketplace! The young inventor felt their auras wash over him, overwhelming him up close. For a moment, he forgot how to speak. 

The blue-haired, short woman smiled brightly towards him, waving a hand. She was even dressed in shades of her hair color, with a small accent of pink coming from the pendant around her neck. It was clear as day that this person did not care what people thought of her. 

“Good day! You do fix clocks, right?” She strode to the counter energetically, her layered skirts swishing around her boots. Arthur suppressed the urge to lean back. He was short-circuiting. Badly. He, he hadn’t expected these two to show up, he had enough trouble dealing with normal humans, why did it have to be when he couldn’t escape to the backroom?! 

“Vivi. Please. I think you’re overwhelming him”, a warm and compassionate baritone interfered. The purple person- a tall and wide-shouldered man in a purple quality vest and pristine white shirt, paired with dark slacks, put a gentle hand on the woman’s shoulder. When Arthur met his eyes briefly, he froze completely. 

Holy- 

It wasn’t just his hair or his clothes. 

His eyes were purple, too. 

Arthur wasn’t prepared for this. 

The man smiled at him, and the sincerity in it made Arthur relax slightly, out of pure instinct. Oh man, this person really was like a warm fireplace in human form… Arthur tried to not concentrate too much on the huge aura wrapping around him, filling his senses with purple and the smell of roses. 

He startled, as the man took something out of his pocket, opening a folded cloth to reveal an intricate old pocket watch. He had a feeling he had been asked something. 

“S-s-sorry, what..?” He managed. The short woman giggled into her sleeve, azure and the crispness of early spring, while the man’s expression stayed patient. 

“Would you mind taking a look at this watch for us, please? It is related to our… work assignment, and we would like to see if it could still work”, he repeated himself. Arthur nodded, blushing in embarrassment, gesturing for the watch. 

“L-let me take a look.” 

The moment he held the pocket watch in his hand, the inventor tensed. His eyes quickly told him everything wasn’t as it should be. Not, that the watch was broken. He couldn’t tell that before opening the front panel. But he could definitely tell there was a spell wound tight around the object, probably worked into its machinery. 

His kind’s work. 

And not the pleasant kind. 

“Are… Are you testing me?” He asked, lifting his eyes from the watch suspiciously, quickly putting it on the counter, not touching it. The man and woman blinked in confusion. 

“Testing..?” The woman asked. Well, at least there wasn’t any ill intent in her aura. Hells, it was ridiculously alluring, Arthur had to admit, the color the woman exuded. Straight-forward, passionate, sparkling like frost on a winter morning. How had he not recognized how special her presence was, before? Probably because it was buried under the ridiculous size of her companion’s aura. Arthur pulled himself out of the spell she seemed to have him under, frowning. He gestured to the watch on the table. 

“Have you brought this to anyone else? How many people have touched it?” He questioned, too worried for the safety of innocents, to remember his nerves. A realization sparked in the woman’s eyes and she turned her head to her partner. 

“Lew! You said you didn’t sense the curse on it, anymore! It’s still there??” 

“I- I didn’t! I thought it was gone!” The man defended himself, looking worried. He bowed towards Arthur lightly. 

“I’m so sorry, sir. I shouldn’t have been this careless. We didn’t know the curse still lingered.” Arthur observed his aura, seeing nothing but sincere concern. The smell of fresh roses was intoxicating. He sighed, tousling his hair. 

“Well. As, uh, as long as you didn’t mean to hurt anyone, I could still take a look at it. If you, um, want the spell removed.” 

“Shouldn’t we bring it to an expert, though?” The blue woman asked, brows knitting together. “A, what were they called? A magineer? Oh crud, those types are probably pretty hard to find…” 

Arthur bit his teeth together as he hesitated. He didn’t like flaunting it. He didn’t like letting customers know. But… He really didn’t want these people to leave the store with a cursed object that could harm them or others. He didn’t want these interesting people to leave yet. Sighing, he took off his glasses and glanced up shyly. 

“Um… You could say you are in luck…” He mumbled, quickly averting his eyes again. The blue woman gasped, her expression brightening, as the man’s eyes widened. Arthur felt the urge to crawl under the counter and hide, under the attention. 

“Oh man!” The woman bounced on her feet, leaning closer. “Are you still willing to take the assignment, mister magineer, sir? It would be a life saver!” 

Arthur cringed, his hands shooting up in front of him. 

“N-no, don’t, don’t call me t-that. It’s just Arthur. Arthur Kingsman.” He quickly slipped his shades back onto his nose, self-conscious. He startled, at the large hand offered his way. The purple man smiled warmly. 

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Kingsman. I’m Lewis Pepper, and this is my fiancé, Viviana Yukino. Your help would be greatly appreciated.” 

Arthur shook the taller man’s hand shyly, shaking his head embarrassedly. 

“Please. Just Arthur. ‘Mr. Kingsman’ is my uncle…” He gave a small smile. “I’m… really not used to this whole salesperson thing. I usually work at the back.” 

“Nice to meet you, Arthur!” Viviana chirped, waving her hand enthusiastically. “And call me Vivi, by the way!” 

“So…” Arthur hesitated, glancing at the offending pocket watch. “I, um, I can start working on it, this evening. You can come back for it, tomorrow”, he suggested. The couple shared a look. Lewis looked tentative, as he rubbed at his neck. 

“Uh… Actually, we… Don’t want to let the watch out of our sight during our assignment. Could it be at all possible if… You worked on it while we were here..? I’m sorry, I know it’s an odd request.” 

“We will pay well!” Vivi added with a charming smile. Arthur blinked, blushing. 

“Um… Why, i-if you don’t mind me asking?” He tried. The couple looked awkward, for a moment, before Vivi shrugged, nudging Lewis. 

“I mean, he’s already accustomed to these things, I think. Since he’s a magineer and all”, she remarked. Lewis considered a moment, before his shoulders slumped and he nodded. 

“Sorry. You deserve an explanation for a weird request like this.” He leaned on the counter lightly. “We… Well, we work in the area of paranormal investigation. This watch is a central part of our current assignment.” 

“Long story short, it used to belong to a person who’s a vengeful ghost, now, and they’re after the watch”, Vivi chimed in, nodding. Lewis hummed. 

“You… You are free to not believe us. I know it’s not… usual. And you’re not obligated to believe in ghosts, even if you work with magical forces, yourself. Just… Know we cannot leave the watch with you without endangering you. If you’d be willing to help, knowing the danger, we would like to stay with you and guarantee nothing bad happens, while you work." 

Arthur’s eyes were wide and his face pale. This was getting more and more out of hand by the second. He hadn’t signed up for any of this, when he promised to watch the shop. But, who was he kidding? Some part of him was definitely intrigued. 

The inventor rounded the counter, walking past his two customers, and to the door, while they watched in confusion. He flipped the sign at the door into ‘Closed’ position, before locking the door. He then returned to the others, sighing tiredly and snatching his intricate tool purse out of his belt. He gave something of a tired smile at the other two. 

“Okay. Um. Follow me”, he gestured, while grabbing the watch in question, careful of only touching the cloth it was wrapped in. He guided Lewis and Vivi into the backroom, where he was more comfortable working with this side of things. Out of sight. He made a wave towards the break bench at one side of the workroom. 

“You can, well, make yourself c-comfortable there, while I work”, he told them. Vivi’s eyes started sparkling. 

“You believe us? You will help?” Arthur smiled at the floor, nervous. 

“I’ve never seen a ghost, but I won’t risk it. And, um, you people haven’t lied to me, so far, so…” Vivi’s mouth formed an ‘o’, momentarily. 

“Oh! Well, that’s a convenient ability!” Arthur grimaced, focusing on laying out his tools on his usual work bench. 

“It’s depressing, most of the time… People lie a lot.” 

“How do you sense it? If you don’t mind me asking?” Arthur glanced her way, startled at her interest. No doubt, no ulterior motives, in her bright aura. Just enthusiasm towards something she was probably passionate about. He blushed, tapping the corner of his eye, looking down. Vivi made a thoughtful sound, nodding in understanding. 

“Neat!” 

There was a rich chuckle that sounded like orchestra strings in Arthur’s ears, and Lewis came up to them, from where he had already been settling on the appointed bench. He put a hand on Vivi’s arm and grinned at Arthur. 

“Sorry, is she harassing you? Vivi, don’t scare him with questions, not everyone’s always up for interrogation…” 

“It’s, it’s okay!” Arthur managed a smile. “I’m just… Not used to it. S-someone being interested. That’s all.” 

His tools ready and the watch on the table, he glanced from it to his customers. 

“Um, so… I need to concentrate, for a bit. You should probably sit down, this m-might take a while.” 

“Oh, is it alright if I watch you work?” Vivi asked quickly. At a warning look from Lewis, she added: “I won’t distract you, just watch, promise! It’s just a rare opportunity! To actually see a magineer working, and a curse being broken!” Arthur sputtered at that. 

“I-it’s not going to be as interesting as you t-think, it’s just like disassembling a basic watch and putting it back together-“ 

“Still! I’m curious!” Her face softened at Arthur’s bewilderment. “Sorry. I got too excited. I understand if you don’t want to have someone gawking…” Arthur breathed, before shaking his head slowly. 

“No… It’s. Okay. I think? You can look, if you want.” When was the last time someone was this interested in his work? Well, Lance always had at least some interest in listening to him talk about it, but anyone else? He didn’t have such people around him. 

As he started his work and opened the clock face, he was aware of two pairs of eyes following his every movement. For now, he pushed his nerves aside. They were just interested. And it wasn’t like he was inexperienced in this kind of work, he knew exactly, what he was doing. 

The young magineer let out an appreciative hum at the intricacy of the mechanism. It really was a nice antique watch. Now, if it just wasn’t engraved stock-full of glyphs. He sighed and turned to rummage his spare part box. Pity, he’d have to replace almost everything… 

“What can you see?” 

“Vivi, we promised not to bother him…” 

Arthur blinked and let out a tentative chuckle. 

“Um, it’s no problem, really. Uh, you want me to walk you through it?” With an enthusiastic nod from his blue-toned customer, and another, calmer but still intrigued one from the odd man with a pair of unnatural eyes just like him, Arthur felt his cheeks heat a bit. Oh. This might actually… be nice. He had once wished he could find another magineer to work with, for these exact types of moments. No one had been this interested, before, not even Uncle Lance. Lance was a practical man and didn’t bother to try and learn about things he couldn’t see or reach. 

Arthur pointed at different delicate parts with his hook-ended tweezers as he worked. 

“It’s pretty full of magineer glyphs. Whoever made this thing, knew exactly how to work a curse. I’m not completely sure what it does, exactly, but it can’t be good, since it’s a lingering type…” He actually chuckled at the bright eyes meeting his with a thousand questions, as he peeked up from picking out springs and gears. 

“Um, yeah, lingering curse. You guys are working with the supernatural, you probably already know how curses work.” 

“I could use a refresher!” Vivi chirped, starry-eyed. Arthur blushed and looked down. 

“U-um, this one… Like I said, not sure what it does. But it’s… like glue. When someone claims ownership over the watch, the curse sticks to them and it’s not going to ever fade on its own. And I have no clue how to remove a curse from a person. A-anyway, the owner will probably become obsessive about the watch, always keeping it with them and, well, strengthening the curse, doing that. When the owner dies, the curse transfers to any offspring. It’s… a bloodline curse at that point. It can get super ugly.” 

Vivi spun to face Lewis, beaming. 

“Oh man, he’s so legit!” She enthused. “That describes the case we’re working on to a T, doesn’t it!” 

“It does”, Lewis admitted, giving Arthur an impressed look. The inventor blushed, clearing his throat nervously. 

“A-anyway! I’m just p-picking out the glyphed parts. Don’t touch anything. I’ll cancel the glyphs in a moment, and then replace the parts with them with new ones.” 

“Why not use the old ones, if the glyphs will be cancelled?” 

“I want to be careful. Someone with the talent could pick out what used to be there and renew it. I, um, I would like to melt the old parts, just to be sure, if you’re a-alright with that?” 

They both nodded at him. 

“Of course.” 

“We don’t mess with curses, do whatever needs to be done!” Arthur snickered, smiling despite himself. He showed them every part he picked out. 

“A glyph of continuity on this one.” 

“A glyph of siphoning on this one…” 

He drew the corresponding glyphs on paper for the others to see, the originals couldn’t be seen by normal eyes, once set in metal. He took care to only use a piece of charcoal to draw them, and immediately shredded the paper afterwards. You could not be too careful with this stuff. It was intricate, it was unpredictable, and it was definitely dangerous. 

Once he had found every piece containing a part of the curse, he sighed. It was frustratingly thorough work, someone had done. They knew what they were doing, and they had done it for a specific person in mind. His suspicions were confirmed, once he reached the back slate of the inside of the watch, and found initials, engraved into the metal with the defining part of the curse. He grimaced in distaste. 

“Whoever did this, did not want anyone to remove the curse”, he groused. He noticed Vivi staring at the parts set aside on the worktable and glanced that way. He hissed a curse as he saw, how the parts had inched towards each other, attempting to stack themselves into their original pattern. He slammed his palm down on them, with a clatter, an unnatural screech reverberating through his mind. He shuddered. 

Vivi and Lewis were now staring at him, looking disturbed. 

“They- They can just do that?” Lewis asked, frowning. Arthur wondered, if they had heard the screech, too. He gave the man a thin smile. 

“Well. That’s the thing about magineer curses. They don’t like being taken apart. The maker of this watch made sure the curse could repair itself. I’m- I’m honestly pretty disgusted that someone with the s-same eyes as me went and used them for this kinda thing…” 

“Are you going to be okay?” Vivi searched his face with real concern. “You touched them with your bare hands.” Arthur’s smile turned a tad less strained. He shrugged. 

“Well I’m not the owner of the watch, so… And, besides, my touch is just a bit special, in these kinds of situations.” He cracked his fingers, a determined look on his face. “Well, let’s disassemble this for good, huh?” 

He picked up the shell of the watch, with the initials and the curse anchor, and pinched the glyph part between his thumb and forefinger and narrowed his eyes. 

A gold and amber zap went through the metal, scorching the engraving, letting out a staticky chime, before it felt as if the very air around them took a deep breath. 

Arthur heard two gasps. He lowered his eyes, not wanting to see what kind of expressions his customers were sporting. It was one thing to talk about the theory, or see a curse working. Completely another to see someone capable of creating such curses using a visibly unnatural power. He put the husk of the watch gently back to the table, checking he hadn’t damaged anything else than just the glyphs. The spot they had been, now had a tiny scorch mark, just big enough to make the glyphs void. He continued to repeat the same action with every other cursed part, until he was sure he had done thorough work. Then, still quiet, he simply swept the old parts into a small pouch, before starting to assemble the clockwork out of newer, corresponding parts. He would have liked to put some of his own glyphs there, to assure his mind and maybe protect the next owner, but he figured in this case, magineers had already done enough damage. He refrained. 

Once he finally clicked the clockface back to its place and wound the watch, he sighed and rubbed his eyes with his fingers. Well, the watch worked, once again. And it was no longer a cursed object. That was a small victory, he guessed. Not looking at his customers, he put the watch down in front of them. 

“Done.” He picked up the pouch he had the old parts in. “It shouldn’t give you any more trouble.” He walked past the others, to his small smelter on the other side of the room, filled coal into it and lit a fire. It would take a few hours to reach the right temperature, but he’d do thorough work and melt the damned parts. Besides, maybe he could use the fire to cast some spare parts for later. Not with that metal, whatever remained of the watch parts would go straight to the dumpster, but he had a pile of cleaned scrap ready for reuse. 

The silence was broken by a warm hand landing on Arthur’s shoulder, startling the man thoroughly. His eyes snapped up, before averting again, to face Lewis Pepper. Arthur frowned lightly. Odd. Why was the man smiling, again? He had expected fear and awkwardness. That was normal. A smile that sincere, wasn’t. 

“Thank you, Arthur”, the man told him, and it was almost painful to see his aura flaring with honesty and gratefulness. “You did amazing work for us. We and our clients are grateful.” 

There was a sparkle of blue aura, like fresh snow and a spring breeze, in the corner of Arthur’s eye. 

“Yes, absolutely!” There was a fluttering of pages, and when the inventor hazarded a glance, Vivi was scribbling into a checkbook, ripping off a page and offering it towards him with a bright smile. “You have more than deserved this for your work!” Arthur stepped closer hesitantly, accepting the check and inspecting it. He balked, eyes flying wide. 

“W-wait! This- This is a ridiculous amount! T-the job was still small-scale, there’s no way it’s worth this mu-“ 

“Specialist fee!” Vivi interrupted, her smile almost intimidating, like she dared him to try and refuse. “Do you have any idea how hard it is to come by a practicing magineer? Don’t you worry, we can afford it just fine! You deserve it.” 

Arthur didn’t know how to deal with this. He opened and closed his mouth, flustered, ducking his head. Lewis’ hand was still on his shoulder, as he chuckled and squeezed gently. 

“You would do better to accept it. You can’t negotiate with Vivi, once she gets this way.” 

“Darn right!” The energetic bluenette jutted her hands on her hips with a downright scary grin. Arthur flushed, nodding. 

“Okay… Okay. Um. Nice doing business with you?” 

As they said their goodbyes and his most unusual customers finally made their leave, a part of Arthur didn’t want to see them go. That… That had been. Well. Different. As he closed the shop properly and added coal to the smelter, he felt mortified. Just great, he was now missing the presence of those two auras. Oh, no, not clingy at all. Great job, Kingsman. 

His uncle returned, a few hours later, to find Arthur hard at work with his smelter, in the middle of cooling down casts of small machinery parts. The clockmaker raised a bushy brow as he greeted his nephew. 

“Artie, we got a good deal out of the new lad, ya know ya can just write down what parts you need, right?” He huffed, amused. Arthur took off his heat-resistant mittens and shot his uncle a small smile. 

“Yeah. Good to hear they agreed on your terms? But I already warmed up the smelter anyway, so I thought might as well. There’s no harm in it, right?” 

“Welp, at least we don’t gotta use wood for warming the upstairs, for a couple of days”, Lance’s laugh rumbled from his chest. “So, how was work? Any customers? How are yer nerves faring?” 

Arthur let out a shy laugh, rubbing at his neck tentatively. 

“Well, I actually… There was a special job I got done. The, the check is in the safe. They were… Very, very generous.” 

“Oh?” Lance walked to their hidden safe, behind a panel on the wall, next to the staircase going upstairs to their living quarters. He deftly put in the combination and inspected the topmost addition to the small stack of checks behind the modest amount of coins and cash. His brows shot to his hairline. Arthur fiddled with his hands, glimpsing the expression. 

“I-it was um! I used… Well it wasn’t a basic fixup I needed to actually use my, well, eyes. And they wouldn’t take no for an answer for the price, they kept saying it was a “specialist fee”, so..!” 

“Artie.” The young man fell quiet. Lance met his eyes, incredulous. 

“Never mind this here is gonna feed us fer the next two months. It says it’s from a Viviana Yukino..?” 

“Um, yeah? At least, that’s what she said her name was?” 

“Lad.” Lance looked half appalled, half impressed. 

“The person you served was the Duchess of Kazenoumi.” 

There was a pause. 

“…Wait. What?”


End file.
